Woman accused of murder tells court of her violent upbringing

Rachel Howarth

A Wigan woman accused of murdering single-mum Lyndsey Vaux has told the jury about her “violent” childhood at the hands of her own father.

Becky Reid, 32, of Sydney Street in Platt Bridge, has taken the stand at Manchester Crown Court, marking the start of the defence’s evidence.

Mr Simon Csoka QC, Becky Reid’s defence barrister, told the jury to carefully consider the “state” of Reid’s mental health and to consider whether she is a “completely broken individual”.

The former Tyldesley Highfield boarding school student wept as she told the court about how her father used to “batter” her and her mother, Gillian Reid, who is also facing a murder charge following Lyndsey’s death.

Dressed in a blue shirt, black waistcoat and black smart trousers, Reid faced the jury as she explained how she was forced to inject her own dad with amphetamines from as young as 12 years old, to save her and her mum from a beating.

“It was like walking on eggshells around him,” she said. “You had to be quiet. He would only tell my mum he loved her when he was off his head. He used to wake me up out of bed. Mum would say she’s your daughter you shouldn’t be asking her to do it.

“I just did it so we wouldn’t get hurt.”

Reid told the court about how her dad would lock her in the house, including one time where she was forced to “climb out of the bedroom window” because she was banned from visiting her mum in hospital following an operation.